


Selkie

by Icarusdg



Series: Halloween Fest 2018 [23]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Happy Ending, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 17:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16392161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icarusdg/pseuds/Icarusdg
Summary: Final part of the Radiation trilogy.Mari spills the beans?





	Selkie

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fluffy ending I wanted to write when I first came up with this whole thing. All of it was for this.

Yuuri really meant to talk to Victor and Yurio weeks ago. Really, he did! But, there was never a good time, he had to talk to his parents, he had to figure out _how_. They deserved so much more and he was just… Yuuri. He got to see Victor flying over the beach with Yurio, beautiful white wings spread against the sky. Yurio kind of reminded him of the birds in Finding Nemo (another of Phichit’s influences). The day Yurio swiped something out of someone else’s hands and said “mine,” Yuuri was going to have to go into hiding because Yurio wouldn’t like how much Yuuri was going to laugh. Victor would probably protect him. Or be attacked by Yurio alongside him. Both of them seemed happier around Yuuri now that he knew; Victor seized every opportunity to spread his wings and Yurio loved going to the beach and riding Makkachin’s back, like she was his trusty steed, as he chirped directions. Yurio would never admit how much he loved that but, they knew he was a child at heart.

Which is why the thought of disappointing Victor and Yurio, broke his heart. It had been so long since he had gone for a swim that Yuuri was getting anxious. Victor tried his best to take Yuuri to the rink or the studio when it got really bad but, it wasn’t working as well as it used to. Everything came to an end when Mari talked to Victor.

Yuuri had been pushing himself to his limit and Mari was done with waiting so, when Victor was alone at the inn, she cornered him flat out said, “Take Yuuri to the beach and make him go for a swim. Don’t take no for an answer and tell him _I_ told you to ask about it. If he keeps this up much longer he’s going to make himself sick.” She then turned away and went back to work, leaving a stunned Victor in her wake.

***

Victor followed through on her instructions and managed a trip to the beach with Yuuri, alone. Even if he was brave enough to go against anything Mari said, he was too worried about Yuuri to consider it.

“Yuuri, can you sit here with me for a minute?”

“Victor, I—we should go, Yurio is going to come looking for us and we need to keep working on next season’s programs.” It was frustrating being so close to the water and unable to do a thing.

“No, Yurio knows not to and we need to talk.” Victor looked so serious and worried and even a little scared. Yuuri couldn’t say no to that.

“Okay.”

After taking a deep breath, Victor started. “Yuuri, Mari told me to make you go for a swim and to ask you about it. What is she talking about?”

He _knew_ this was coming. He _knew_. Yet, it didn’t change how much it hurt him to have to tell Victor. “Please don’t hate me Victor! I’m sorry, I should have told you!” Yuuri was crying already and he hadn’t even said anything yet.

“Yuuri, I don’t hate you, I could never hate you. Please just tell me what’s going on and we can work it out.”

“I’m… I’m not what you think. When I was in Detroit I did some research and I guess the closest thing you could call me is a… selkie. We aren’t like the old stories and I’m not really different from anyone else! I just… I can sort of… shift.”

“Huh. That’s… not what I expected.”

This was it, Victor was going to leave.

“Its not bad or anything, just, I thought this was going to be something terrible. Why are you so worried about being a selkie?”

_Victor’s not leaving_. Yuuri almost forgot to answer his question. “Its, I’m not _human_.”

“Neither am I.”

”But you were! I never was, my family never was!”

“And you are probably more human than me at this point but I really don’t care.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh.’”

“Sorry.”

“Its fine. So, you want to explain?”

“Yeah, I can. I—we, well I don’t know too much of the history because we only have what was passed down by word of mouth. A really long time ago there used to be more of us, not quite out in the open but not really hiding what we were either because it wasn’t like we spent that much time on land. But, as ships became more popular, it started getting dangerous and eventually, my ancestors decided we would be safer if we found our place on land where we could secretly enjoy the ocean while still living by the rules of humans. The onsen has been in our family from then on. During this time, because we spent so much time on land, our blood was… diluted. Compared to my great grandparents, I can go much longer without a swim and while I still can’t change without my skin, I can actually change just my tail. Its actually really hard for me to change completely.”

“So, who else knows?”

“Well, I suspect the whole town does? No one talks about it so I can’t be sure but, no one comes to this beach except our family and sometimes people say things that seem like they know? For sure, Minako knows. Also, Phichit knows.” _Please don’t let Victor ask, please don’t ask._

“How did Phichit find out?”

Of course he would ask. “He kind of, walkedinonmeinthetub.” Yuuri wished he could forget that whole incident.

“He… what do you mean?”

“I can go longer without changing but, I can’t go indefinitely. Detroit doesn’t exactly have a clean, private beach I could go to. I had to change in the tub. Phichit has a tendency to forgo privacy and barge into my room or _bathroom_ when he wanted to tell me something. I spent a week fielding all sorts of random questions.”

“Sounds like he had some interesting questions.”

“No. I’m not repeating a single one.”

With that the tension was broken; Victor burst into laughter and Yuuri soon followed.

“Fine but, are we going to tell Yurio?”

“Of course.”

“Otabek already knows doesn’t he?”

“He hasn’t said so but I’m pretty sure he knew the day we met.”

“It’s a little spooky how he can tell.”

“Yeah…”

Victor looked out over the ocean for a bit, contemplating his next step. “Would you like to go for a swim?”

“I’d love to.”

***

“So… you’re a fish.”

“Not a fish, a seal. And no, not all the time.”

Yurio’s arched, unimpressed eyebrow was a lot less daunting than it used to be. As it was, Yuuri was tempted to call him a ‘bird brain.’

Yuuri and Victor sat him down to talk as soon as they got back to the inn; Victor was too excited to keep it quiet and Yuuri really wanted to be honest with him so they made the decision to tell him immediately when they left the beach after a long swim.

“All your stressing out and twitchiness, all of it was because you couldn’t admit you’re a fish?”

“Not a fish and… well, yes.”

“Wait, is this why Beka was all weird about you?”

“He what?”

“He kept humming, ‘It’s a small world’ when he came to visit.”

“That would probably be Victor’s fault.”

Said man was currently playing with his dog while chatting away with Phichit on the phone. Yuuri really didn’t want to know what that was about.

“You know, it makes sense.”

“What does?”

“You being a fish, what do you think Skua eat?”

“I’m not a fish.”

“No I suppose seals are more like puppies. No wonder Makka gets along with you so well.”

“Says the bird brain that likes to ride on Makka’s back.”

“…”

“Yuuri! I didn’t think you had it in you!” Victor walked back over just in time to hear Yuuri’s words and see Yurio’s stunned silence. Yurio’s face alone was enough to make Victor laugh.

Things were always changing; the three of them had gotten closer since they first all met at the Sochi GPF. Or maybe it was, since Yuuri and Yurio met, and Yuuri and Victor met for the second time.

***

Mari really couldn’t stop tormenting Yuuri. While she was successful when she told Victor about Yuuri the first time, it didn’t mean she had to spill more of his secrets. This time, instead of pulling Victor aside, she blurted it out when they were trying to have dinner. _Alone_.

“Yuuri, have you told him about what happened when you two met? You were so adorable!”

“Mari!”

Victor looked from one sibling to the other before leaning in toward Yuuri with his trademark, heart shaped, smile. “Oh, is there more I should know, _Yuuri_?”

“I hate you Mari.”

His dear sister cackled like a witch the whole way back to the kitchen.

“Fine. You’ve heard before, stories about Selkies who had their skin stolen and were forced into marriage, right?”

“Yes?”

“Well, when someone voluntarily returns a skin, its considered… a marriage proposal.”

“Okay?”

“… You don’t remember meeting when I was in Juniors do you?” At Victor’s blank look Yuuri sighed and continued. “It was my first time in a JGP event. It so happened that the event was host to both a Junior competition and a Senior competition. I was huddled on the floor in an empty hallway when someone took what he thought was my coat. At the time, I was still young so I had a hard time being away from my skin and the anxiety just made it worse. I ended up with a panic attack, thinking I would never see it again, I could never swim again. Then all of a sudden, you were there. You had been walking by when you saw it happen and you took the coat back and… returned it.”

“Yuuri…” A look of wonder spread across Victor’s face when he realized the implications.

“At the time, I was so sure I was going to bomb and never compete again. Then there you were… I knew you didn’t know what it meant but, it meant everything to me.”

Victor couldn’t resist pulling Yuuri into his arms and kissing him.

Unfortunately, Mari wasn’t finished. “You should have seen when he came home!”

“OMG Mari!”

Victor never had siblings but, he was pretty sure he had a good idea what it was like now; Mari and Yuuri were struggling with each other, Yuuri trying to silence her and Mari pushing his arms away so she could continue.

“He was so starry eyed! He announced that he knew who he was going to marry and that he would work even harder to be your equal on the ice so he would be a good husband for you! He still has school notes with ‘Nikiforov Yuuri’ doodled in the margins!”

“Ahh!” Finally, Yuuri was mildly successful. The two had fallen to the floor and were a tangled mess to the point that neither could talk anymore. Of course this was when Hiroko walked in. Victor had no idea what she said but he could guess it was something about them being adults and too old to be fighting like children. They each looked properly chastised when she was done.

_This is family_. It had been so long since Victor had anything like it; Yakov and Nikolai tried their best but, he’d already been on his own for a long time before he met them. This was the first time he felt like he could just let go. Yuuri knew about his past and loved him still. With Yuuri came Hiroko and Toshiya and Mari. Really, the whole town came with Yuuri. This was the home he always wanted and finally, it was his.


End file.
